Eagle tries to snatch child at bird of prey show

Stunned onlookers watched as the wedge-tailed eagle tried to steal the child 'like a small animal' at a show at Alice Springs Desert Park.

The small boy, believed to be between 6 and 8 years old, escaped with with a "superficial" gash to his face.

Staff at the park in central Australia moved in to take care of the situation and the boy was left crying, according to the BBC.

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Christine O'Connell was visiting the park and saw the incident.

She told the BBC: "A fellow who was sitting closer said the little boy kept running his zipper up and down."

She wrote on Instagram: "Not the sharpest photo but lucky just to snap it. At a nature park in Alice Springs we decided to go to a bird show the young boy in the green kept pulling his zipper up and down.